March 2011

03/21/2011

Toronto Star Picture Editor Wanda Goodwin shares this delightful set of photos featuring two endangered Maned Wolf puppies born at the Houston zoo recently. Yes, another cute alert courtesy of the Daily Beast. Check back often!

The Houston Zoo announced the births of two endangered maned wolf pups, Dora (l) and Diego (r), born December 30 to mom Lucy, 6 years old and father Seis, 8 years old.

Shown Dora

The pups weigh just over 5 pounds now and are being cared for around the clock by Zoo carnivore and animal hospital staff.

Shown Diego

The pups are fed 6 times each day and were just introduced to solid food recently.

Shown Diego

The pups, Diego (has both ears down) and Dora (has one ear up and one down), were named after the lead characters in the children’s television cartoon programs Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go.

Shown Diego

Maned wolves are native to the grasslands, savannahs and tall grass prairies of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia. The species once thrived and ranged throughout much of South America.

Shown Dora

Unlike other wolves that live in cooperative breeding packs, maned wolves are solitary animals. Little is known about their lives in the wild where their populations are increasingly threatened by habitat loss to agriculture.

There are less than 100 maned wolves living in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Only 17 maned wolf pups were born in 2009. Studies are in place to understand why maned wolves breed poorly. Information collected from zoo-maintained maned wolves will be used to begin thorough studies of wild populations to address the species most pressing needs in its native range.

03/20/2011

Thousands of images have come over the wires of the crisis in Japan, but it can be hard to understand the scale of the damage, or to visualize what buildings, life or infrastructure were there before the waves washed them away. Some images today that told that story well:

This combo of photos taken on March 11, 2011 shows the coast at Minamisoma, Fukushima prefecture before (top), during (middle), and after (bottom) a tsunami. (Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images)

A general view of the tsunami damage in Kessennuma, Miyagi prefecture on March 20, 2011. (AFP PHOTO/ Nicolas Asfouri)

The Houston Zoo announced the birth of a female Masai giraffe, the first birth in The African Forest, the Zoo’s newest addition which opened on December 10, 2010.

Mom Tyra delivered the healthy female calf shortly after 5 p.m. on March 4 at the McGovern Giraffe Exhibit at The African Forest following a 14 month pregnancy.

The calf weighs 150 pounds and is over 6 feet tall.

“Tyra went into labor at approximately 3:15 p.m. and delivered her baby 5:15 p.m.,” said Houston Zoo Hoofed Stock Supervisor Laurie McGivern. The as yet unnamed calf was standing on her own and nursing by 6:15 p.m.

This is 12 year old Tyra’s sixth calf. Kiva, the father is 15 years old. With this new arrival, the Houston Zoo’s herd of Masai giraffe has grown to 8, including 5 males and 3 females.

While Masai giraffes are not threatened or endangered in their native habitat, there are 92 Masai giraffes living in 24 North American zoos. Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrial animal. The average male is about 17 feet tall and can weigh 3,000 pounds, while an average female is over 14 feet tall. On average, Masai giraffes weigh between 125 and 150 pounds at birth and stand approximately 6 feet tall.

03/13/2011

In this March 3, 2011 photo released by the Wildlife Conservation Society, a Mertens’ water monitor hatches from its egg at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Native to Australia, this Mertens’ water monitor will reside at the Bronx Zoos’ “World of Reptiles.” (AP Photo/Wildlife Conservation Society, Julie Larsen Maher)